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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A couple months ago, Scott Vener (@brokemogul), who's the music supervisor for shows on HBO like Entourage and How To Make It In America, hit us with an opportunity to do something over this beat sampling Lenny Kravitz. I was feeling how smooth it was and though I wasn't sure what the hell it was for, I jumped at the chance. You listen up when a guy like Scott asks you to do something.

*Scott has a pretty cool blog he posts a lot of the music that makes it onto shows you should check out here www.brokemogul.com - the guy has an affinity for good hip-hop and keeps an eye out for the culture whenever possible. For that, salute him.

Monday, August 30, 2010

This is kind of crazy. New guys on the scene, Motiondose, have been talking about dropping something exclusive from Lil Wayne for a couple weeks now and we finally get what they were talking about. The track is sort of Rock-fused number, not what I was expecting at all. Damn I changed this game huh...

Wayne's “I’m Not A Human Being” LP of new music drops September 27th. Not to be confused with the much-anticipated Carter 4 album supposedly dropping in November.

This is really interesting. Largely considered one of the magazine's pioneering moments came from a young writer named Gay Talese, about Frank Sinatra, in Los Angeles, in the winter of 65'.

The legendary singer was approaching fifty, under the weather, out of sorts, and unwilling to be interviewed. So Talese remained in L.A., hoping Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and he began talking to many of the people around Sinatra -- his friends, his associates, his family, his countless hangers-on -- and observing the man himself wherever he could. The result, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," ran in April 1966 and became one of the most celebrated magazine stories ever published, a pioneering example of what came to be called New Journalism -- a work of rigorously faithful fact enlivened with the kind of vivid storytelling that had previously been reserved for fiction. The piece conjures a deeply rich portrait of one of the era's most guarded figures and tells a larger story about entertainment, celebrity, and America itself. We're very pleased to republish it here.

Just a quick, dope ass verse from the King for Green Lantern. Rappers don't do it like anymore, my bad! Niggas don't talk like this. People don't get it, it's not just what you say but how you say it. The language Nasir raps in is a lost one. I swear on everything I'm trying to bring it back.

This is done so fucking well. Wow. Just the shots, angles, the rack focus, colors, the incredible sound design, the actual design of the shoe. So ill. Glad to have seen it. Directed by these guys David Hubert and Olivier Staphylas. Just a Mark II and Zeiss lens, man.

I like the themes in Fairey's work a lot, and the shapes he plays with. He has a new exhibit titled, Printed Matters, at Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles running from September 16th thru October 9th. They'll also be a pretty dope opening night where he'll be there talking and signing copies of the book he's featured in, Beyond the Street: The 100 Most Important Figures in Urban Art. Wish I could make it. Probably one of those cool LA events you read about the next day.

My man Andy, whose a photographer and designer out in LA, put me on to this. It looks to be a pretty well- done documentary about New York City from 1968 to 1975, when gangs ruled heavy and Hip-Hop was born. There's a brief description down below. Feels like it could be a gem.

From 1968 to 1975, gangs ruled New York City. Beyond the idealistic hopes of the civil rights
movement lay a unfocused rage. Neither law enforcement nor social agency could end
the escalating bloodshed. Peace came only through the most unlikely and courageous of events that would change the world for generations to come by giving birth to hip-hop culture. Rubble Kings, the most comprehensive documentation of life during this era of gang rule to date, tells the story of how a few extraordinary, forgotten people did the impossible, and how their actions impacted the world over.

This guy caught my eye with the great photos he took at the Rock The Bells festival in New York yesterday. NahRight has that whole set you can check out here. Checking out Earnest's site I saw it was pretty easy to get around in there and the guy takes some serious pictures. Great ones. He was at the same Bruno Mars/Nina Sky show Dred filmed the other night and got a killer shot of my girls doing their thing on stage.

Crazy show this week. Jeremy Piven (Ari) tweeted earlier that this was the first episode a cast-member directed and it turns out it was Kevin Connolly (Eric). It was pretty good. We noticed something was different about it. There's only one more show and it's the season finale coming on in two weeks.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Going crazy for these. Caught them in the Lebron covered GQ and they're the perfect mixture of some not so outlandish but still dumb exclusive and head-turning enough for an extra ass nigga like myself haha. What people seem to keep saying about them is that for a legit hiking boot, they're still light with a tighter silhouette than most. NEED THEM.

You might think I'm totally, utterly corny for saying so but I don't think this is all that ill lyrically. Production-wise, eventish-wise, it really is a huge number but no one's really saying anything special. Nikki has a stand-out verse at the end but both Ye & Jay just fall flat in my opinion. We've heard the same sentiments over and over again from them. You can tell Ross' 4-bar opening lines are dated and the mix is just weak. All in all, I was pretty disappointed. Good thing it isn't the final version.

I've already heard from a few trusted sources that this is NOT a good representation of what's to come and Kanye is barely scraping the plate. He put some crazy news out yesterday announcing that him and Hov are releasing a 5-song EP called, "Watch The Throne" any day now. No more information is available right now.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Though I'm not too much a fan of his music, this shit is crazy. Wanting Maino to win is an understatement and a half for me right now. This is done really well. The upcoming DJ Drama-hosted mixtape, The Art Of War drops this Fall.

*Also, just saw a very interesting thing on MTV last night. Some kind of reality show starring Maino and some live-in white guy that gets choked out? More on that to come.

Well what the hell you expect? More big moves and history making to do for self-professed King Hov. It was anounced today that the Yankees will be releasing a limited line of merchandise which includes T-Shirts and fitted caps with his Blueprint 3 insignia. Starting this Monday, August 30th, the limited edition wear will be sold exclusively at Yankee Stadium’s Great Hall Team Store until after the Jay-Z x Eminem concerts September 13th and 14th. Ridiculous. I wouldn't mind a team jacket or something. Maybe another fitted I'll never wear?

*I'm a little late on this but I think it's fucking great. The Associated Press is reporting a hush-hush talk Jay-Z will give November 15 at the New York Public Library main branch on 5th Avenue as part of the promotion for his memoir, "Decoded", dropping the same day. Hot ticket. I'll update when I get some more info.

Saw something about this a couple days ago in Gmail and didn't even pay much attention to it hahaha. I guess it really is a big deal. Gmail phone service free in the US and Canada, with low rates internationally. Pretty cool animation above promoting the service.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Before we even get to Fab's new shit let's talk about how I'm feeling this new player a lot. New guys on the scene, Motiondose, got a nice little thing going on. The boy from Brooklyn gets all lit up for the new shit promoting his There Is No Competition 2: The Grieving Music EP coming out on Def Jam, September 6th. The mixtape was great in my opinion, hope they don't fuck it up! This isn't' bad I guess.

Fashion night out is almost upon us in New York this September 10th. Last year my homegirl Meg invited me to the Rocawear party where it seemed like everybody was at, even this guy Jay-Z for a little while. Good fucking times. What's on the menu this year? Was just telling AMK I have just the tee.

This joint from Puff and the girls leaked some months ago and we ended up falling in love with it. Great feeling. Reminds me of the kinda r&b/hip-hop shit from the 90's. Supposedly Drake wrote it along with some other people. Last Train To Paris indefinitely on hold.

c' e s t b o n from The Art of Re-use on Vimeo.
This is done really well. Would love to explore a visual like this with one of my joints. This is the second installment to this season’s promotional series by The Art of Reuse. Filmed & Directed by Sean Brown.

Went crazy when I first got this haha. I don't need it anymore. Might've wore it 10 times. You can have a piece like this for the rest of your life it's made so well. Selling it for $300, bought it for 4. Lemme know in the comments if you want it, or email.

*Showcasing some of my photoshop skills with that clean white background too, ha!

Really feeling these. Posting them up last month when I had just a small preview but now we get the full range of styles to check out. Each shoe is one of a kind as the knits are carefully spun to vary from piece to piece and the soft sheep leather in “Missoni Brick Red” on the split tongue, heel pull tab and partially lined collar just fucking kill it for me. The shoes will launch in early September at Missoni boutiques (New York and Beverly Hills), as well as other select retailers globally. Retail is set at $200 USD.

I totally forgot to post this a few days ago. I immediately texted Dredlife to rave about it's genius and just never put it up. So, just to reiterate, this shit is an instant classic. Even the way they released this straight to Youtube so everybody watched and posted it and the views just racked the fuck up. I mean, my whole thing right now is putting something out that's gonna make people wanna share it. That's the key right there and this does just that. It was released to radio a couple days ago as, "Forget You" which isn't quite the same but we'll see how it does.

I remember talking about this the other day on Twitter with a couple people. As much as I want Styles to win in life, I don't think he really knew how to flow over this shit to begin with. Just imo. Just nowhere what Rozay went and did, that's for sure. I still acknowledge the nigga came off on it though. This is the full length verse I guess they decided to shorten once it got to Ross. Not sure how I'd feel if they tried doing that to me but fuck it, might be the biggest rap song of the year.

Terry's just got this undeniably attractive thing about his work. It screams. His subjects are bright and overtly sensual and yet everything in the picture plays it's own part, it's weird. I just find the guy's stuff awesome. The sharp wardrobe is styled by Emmanuelle Alt.

More heat from Tev. The Brooklyn/Miami cat I've made some of my favorite music with over the last 6 months continues hitting us with his own brand of big, gritty production, dropping the brand-new Crime Loops beat tape, on September 5th. He already has a couple of tracks you can preview up at his Bandcamp now and I'll post down below. Tev is a beast man, I can't get enough of his shit. He's also a pretty interesting kid outside of the music, which is always nice. He's inspired and passionate about he does and you can tell he has a good eye for aesthetic. Feeling the cover of the new project a lot. Check his joints out and make sure you follow him on Twitter here.

*You really might wanna pay attention to a couple of these new guys I've been talking about.Majestik Minds by TeV95

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

New crack from Tensta! I gotta admit, besides the occasional *twitter wave*, I haven't really kept up with what my brother's been up to in a while. He was here in New York for a short amount of time a couple months ago and invited me out but I couldn't make it. That won't happen again. Fresh off a great fucking Entourage Season 7, Episode 7 look with one of his first 3-year old hits, "My Cool", the kid drops off this new joint produced by the talented, Shitsmiths. The duo from out Umeå/Sweden, whom Adam has collaborated with on not only his forthcoming sophmore album titled, “Scared Of The Dark” but also a concept album called “Last Days Of Punk”, entirely produced by them. Exciting stuff. The track is fucking thick with classic Adam Tensta all over it reflecting on what it's like being young and black in the country of Sweden.

I just love how all these videos of Shyne were shot out there, smoking trees in Belize. It's another outtake of the XXL interview and here he talks about how much Brooklyn, America has inspired him. How much the African-American greats and American people as a whole just have so much fight in them to do great on such a large scale. You know, although the music has been much less than anything desired from the guy, between these videos and the article I did read in full, I have a certain respect for his beliefs. Interesting stuff.

Man, reading about this dude brings me back. A couple years ago during a stint at one of New York's premiere coffeehouses in the NYU area, myself and my giggling fellow employees were all treated with James' presence on and off for about 6 months while he took a class in a nearby building. Superhero arch-nemesis by night, scruffy college student by day, the guy was nothing short of a trip everytime he waltz in. The girls would swoon, the guys would stutter and make fun of the girls who swooned. He'd literally come in looking extra terrible at times, get something normal to eat and drink, take a seat on the couch and knock out for hours. It was hilarious. People would just stare at him as he slept with his gaping mouth wide open. I can't front, I probably did too. It's kind of cool to see this millionaire Hollywood guy be so fucking stupid looking and normal haha. There was however that one time after he'd already starting doing the Gucci ads that he came in on a rainy day wearing one of the sickest Gucci trenchcoats I've ever seen. That was one of the last times I saw him. Anyway, that's my James Franco story. All jokes aside he seemed like a genuine and good dude. NY Mag does this pretty lengthy profile on him if you care enough to take a gander.

Movie star, conceptual artist, fiction writer, grad student, cipher—he’s turned a Hollywood career into an elaborate piece of performance art. But does it mean anything? A critical investigation, with bathroom break.

Gotta give it up, the entire team's been killing it out there these past few weeks. Earlier today, ILLZ, along with Hot Mop Films and Kristopher Rey-Talley, dropped their much anticipated “In Between Video Series”. The project features new material from the kid, only released in video form at first, until today. Unofficial remixes featuring the lush and beautiful sounds of Fenech Soler, Cat Power, Telepopmusik & Portishead etc, with original production from ILLtal, and Cito on the beat give Illz solid ground to lay his dreams out clear and poignant. I can't lie though, at times I wanna hear a different story from the kid. Two bodies of work in and I already feel I know what to expect. Call me crazy but I like to spice things up a bit, almost to a fault I guess. It's important to me rappers do more than just rap. It's important to me artists don't stay in the safe zone for long but rather branch out musically, work different flows, angles, soundscapes, moods, vocal inflections, topics. Bottom-line, there's no question Illz does what the fuck he does and does it well but as a lifelong fan of Hip-Hop and someone that wants to see the people I fuck with win and win big, I need more. Forgive me, I'm a hard case. Still shitting on a good 85% of the new rap music coming from anywhere in the world, you can totally play this shit front to back more than a few times and that says a hell of a lot. It's a real treat. Do yourself a favor and watch this kid like a hawk.

"Some people smoke weed, some people do cocaine, some people drink. For me, my weakness is being at a club in front of 2,000 people"

I'm from New York, born and raised, and for as long as I can remember Flex has been on the radio talking shit. A lot of people don't like it. They change the station, they think it's obnoxious. I fucking love that shit. That's Flex. Dee continues her profiles she does so well. While others dazzle you with special camera tricks and lighting situations and angles and shit, what i love so much about these is what the questions make the subject do. Everyone does something different but there's always such a comfort there. Who knew Flex was so cute hahahahahahahahhahahaaahhhhaha. Seriously though, talking about his wife and kids, his parents, his cars and home, his days off, his fears. Shit's amazing, B.

Can't front, I can't get this song out my head. Well done. They say it's just a reference track for a certain R&B diva and you can easily hear said girl all over the joint. Sounds like it should be some Rihanna shit but I'm not sure what the politics are.

Kinda feeling the look of this. Love the feeling I'm getting from it. Like Autumn is coming. Like texture is coming back, and good leather and carrying things out of the cold into the warm places we like to go. I wouldn't personally wear it I'm just saying, I'm into it. The worn leather backpack drops in about a month at select Barney's.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The new cologne I'm looking at for Fall this year just got a serious push in the right direction with a short film being directed by Martin Scorcese along with music by The Rolling Stones. AMK got me a little sample of the the other day and it's fucking dope. If you know me in real life, don't copy me.

"The man who refuses to be bound by convention resists the ordinary every day in favor of freedom, and finds satisfaction in the unexpected. His fragrance liberates the senses -- fresh, clean, profoundly sensual -- a signature statement of his determination to live an unscripted life."...

A few great pictures of my disgusting friend, the lovely, Cara. Love the look. It's not just her though, haha. The small set of photos taken out in Compton, Rhode Island have a gorgeous feeling to them. If you're on Facebook you can check them out here.

*My peoples over at Spek Studios are working with J.Brightly who's directing this year's VMA's going on September 12th. I just found out my art-director homegirl, Coco, specifically designed Drake's stage working with the main guy, Jason Hamilton. Coke and the team did a great job! Nice to be able to call some of the most talented people in the biz your friends.

Was thinking i need a new pair of blacked out tall joints for Fall. Last year I had these really simple jointz I liked a lot but i let them chill for a few days and Andyboy took it upon himself to put that little brother stench all over them, smh. Never again, haha. These are just a preview and there's no release date just yet but I'm sure it's looking like real soon. Hot shit.

rumble, young man, rumblelife's a trip so sometime we gon stumbleyou gotta go through pain in order to become youbut once the world numbs you you'll feel like there's only one younow you got the power to do anything you want tountil you ask yourself is this what it's all come tolooking at life through sunglasses and a sunroofuntil you have the power to get out from up under youfuck all these labels, fuck what everybody wants from youthey trying to Axl Rose youWELCOME TO THE JUNGLEto be continued...we on that Norman Mailer shitin search of the trutheven it goes through Taylor Swift, tell her this

The other genius spoke to the cool dudes at GQ UK for a little bit and let go of a few style gems I thought it'd be nice to share. Mistakes or not, this guy knows how to fuckin' dress.

"My style hero was Batman. Now it’s Tony Stark.

Sometimes what is bad taste now, three years later could be the most incredible thing ever. You just never know.

I like it when Prince William goes dandy. He’s got all the proper wardrobe when they do the hunting thing. They kill that! I was inspired by a lot of Purdey – the Space Beach Cape in the new BBC A/W collection was Purdey mixed with a bit of Malcolm McClaren.

How did I dress well on a budget? I dressed completely ridiculously. We had this habit of wearing two pairs of socks. One we would wear normally, the other we would pull right over the ball of your foot. It would make your shoe puffy, which would make your foot appear smaller. We were just weirdos, man. I don’t know what dimension that rolled out of.

Alber Elbaz is just a genius. He’ll be in a dinner jacket and he doesn’t care what time of day it is: I love that about him. He just marches to the beat of his own drum.

I love boat shoes, but I’ve got to let them go now. Don’t you think? Dr Martens are making a very interesting comeback. Good colours and a different silhouette. A lot of [high-end] shoes come across as “designer”. It’s anti-designer time.

If you look at Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream, I’ve been inspired by archetypes. In the super hipster dance culture, there are things like these [picks up Ice Cream tracksuit trousers with popsicles on them]. Shay would never wear these – but they are so comfortable. I was making them so punks and hipsters could come and get some things too. Because we’re not a punk or hipster brand. We did a lot of hipster things, but we moved on.

Nike is still killing it. I don’t know what it is but there’s something about the futuristic sneaker shape that kills it. I saw this kid wearing [purple and pink woven] Nike shoes downstairs and I was like, “What the hell is this?” Those were cold.

Marc Jacobs is the godfather. In no specific order, there’s Karl [Lagerfeld], Junya Watanabe, Rei from Comme des Garçons and Tommy Hilfiger is creeping up too – he has a nice couture line. Let’s get Nigo in there as well! All of those guys are the kings of all kings. The fact I was able to meet those people and work with them was really cool.

Ralph Lauren Purple Label is incredible. That denim collection was crazy: they had overalls with a coal-mining type of look. I’m for sure going to Ralph’s restaurant in his Paris store.

Takashi Murakami and Jeff Koons capture my imagination. Brian Donnelly [Kaws] is on the way. Lucien Pellat-Finet is a designer but he kills it.

I look at some clothes and say, “Never”. But then I wake up one day and I’m wearing jeans that are tight as fuck. I remember having that conversation five years ago and saying, “Not me.” Then two years years later all my jeans are super-slim. I felt crazy wearing bigger jeans. I give it two or three years but big jeans will come back. I don’t know about people starting to wear them lower though – when things come back they come in a different incarnation which isn’t the same cut.

I don’t know about style mistakes. I like the world. I like the fact that some people dress great, some people dress fucked up. Here’s how it works: everything everyone wore two or three years back are now no-nos. As the next year progresses, another year falls past. But you keep everything.

I love black tie. Getting dressed up, performing, wearing tuxes: I love that. When Shay cleans up, he’s a sharp guy. [At this point Shay interjects: "Unfortunately, I don't. I went to the Met Ball in T-shirt and jeans."]

Steve McQueen is still my all-time favourite. Him and [Robert] Redford in Gatsby."

Do I have to post this? I guess I should. Especially cause I can talk shit about it hahahaha. No but really, Anthony Mandler to me is a great director with great vision. The room scenes where the faceless lady is doing the jig for the rapper have such a classic feel to them. I'm not really feeling how they did Weezy but I guess they had to get artistic with the footage provided before the stint on the island. The worst part about this has got to be Drake's faces, my bad! They're crazy! Why the grill?! Why the constant fake angry face?! WHY!? Maybe that's a forever kind of thing and there's no changing any of it. Ahh, well.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

For the past 10 years or something I've kept a little point and shoot Canon lying around. It's not the most sophisticated look but for a crisp, pleasure-to-use, take-with-me-everywhere kinda thing, it's just perfect. Every few years I upgrade and it looks like I'll be doing the same come September. The S95 update combines Canon's DIGIC 4 image processing, 10-megapixel high-sensitivity CCD sensor, and wide f/2.0 lens to enhance image quality and reduce noise at high ISO levels without resorting to a flash. Very cool. They've also included a new high dynamic range (HDR) mode, 720p video recording, and mini HDMI for when you wanna connect to that flatscreen. A 3-inch LCD, Miniature, Fisheye, Poster, and Super Vivid creative modes, 10x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, and a brand new 240fps super slow motion mode sound like just the right amount of good and fun I'll need for the next couple summers.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Some how, some way, Eminem just hit number one again and sold another 132,000 units. The album came out 2 months ago. Fucking ridiculous feat. I'm still trying to figure out what gave him such a big spike but it's probably due to the success of him and Rihanna's "Love The Way You Lie" single and now the ill video to go along with it. Still, it's silly, man. The guy's a beast. 2,113,000 to date and still going.

The design mixed with good cause going on here is inspiring. Though there's only a few ways to pull these off without looking like a complete asshole, I suggest spending the day on some Bedford Avy shit and keeping your eyes peeled. In my opinion, do some severely worn in shorts and a very clean top and you should be straight. Once you get going, Bed Stu will donate 100% of the profits from the sale of the “Gulf Coast Cleanup” collection to the National Wildlife Federation. Cool shit.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

This is so sick. Got to watch it last night and had to bother Phil for an embed code. Kid's got a master hand in my opinion. Next up for sure.

*Phil and I have been talking about working for a while now and I'm positive it's gonna happen soon. Working with Lil Wayne, Ciara, Diggy, Mickey Facts etc. keeps you busy haha. Check out most of his work here at www.philthegod.com (which by the way is a great looking site).

Whoa! Whip meeeean, man. Wait till I get my money right. From concept to fruition, the brand-new 4-door sportscar sedan debuted at the 2008 Salon d’Automobiles in Paris and will now go into production. Just a cool $200k. Rappers in Bond cars, man. More to come.

Really good episode right here. Gotta watch with the kid Dred later on. That shit with Ari damn near broke my heart but I guess that's one of the prices you gotta pay. This show is too good and too short.

Seems my man Chify out in London performed at a crazy afterparty somewhere involving a theatre group or some shit. All I know is that's him up top and the pictures are great. I think you check them out if you're on Facebook by going here. Waiting to hear back from him about what the hell it was about. He's wearing a sick outfit imo.

I've been bumping these couple joints for the past few days now and they're ridiculous. Especially the joint, "Travel Places". I hit Rae up on Twitter last night telling him how he's the guy I wanna collaborate with the most I think at this point. There's nobody I rather trade stories with on something ill just back and forth style. I guess it didn't warrant a response just yet but he'll know my name soon enough, man.

Links jacked from NR, respectively.Rae's OBC4L2: The Gold Deluxe Edition is out today and be copped here on iTunes. Funny thing is my man Ayes Rocker designed the fugazi-ass gold cover hahaha. I didn't like it from the jump but that's cool shit.

Finally we get a glimpse into maybe what this guy's been doing for the last year or so. From performing original rap records to weird-ass talk show appearances and public breakdowns, everyone had questions as to what it was all for. Turns out we still don't really know. Casey Affleck made a documentary about it though. And it's as interesting as ever in my opinion.

Great cover. I will buying this for two reasons. Magazines are awesome and I support print simply because it's fuck the internet and all it's glory at this point! Something about a crispy physical piece of work like this I'll enjoy forever. Lebron kills the outfit, too.

There's more flicks and some behind-the-scenes video of the man sporting a Rocafella chain here

This was the invite for the show that went down the other night at The Box. Nothing special design-wise but I'm feeling it's simplicity. Reminds me of something I'd do. Would've been nice to get this in the inbox.

More of a look into the lives of my pretty friends at the camera and hand of DredHotMopFilms. Here's what the girls had to say:Two weeks ago, we got all glammed up as we posed in the streets with Hearty Magazine and then took a seat at Frank’s Chop Shop for our first ever Barber shop ‘cuts. It was FUN TIMES and we must admit, the boys did their thing!
Our day in the city was for a feature story on www.HeartyMagazine.com (check it out) and for an upcoming event we’re participating in along with Franks Chop Shop for the charity Locks of Love.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Why can't they make rap videos this good? Mark my words, I'm going for it. Another band I've never heard of have a great song and an even doper video to match. Something about the movement here, the smoke shots, the bits of fire everywhere. Directed by DANIELS. They killed this, damn. The band's self-titled album drops in September.

Just so ya understand where I'm coming from here. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of behind-the-scenes photoshoot things in my life. Shit, I even put one out my self a couple weeks ago. This one up top with Jeezy is awesome to say the least. Serving as a great interview in addition to the visual, I feel it does more for the ill rapper than anything he's put out for the new album so far. Luke warm response to the new music and recent controversy and beef scares with Rick Ross have put Jeezy in a funny place with the public and I'm interested to see ho he bounces back. Ultimately it'll come down to how hot the music is but I can really dig the artistic approach here. Very mature and telling.

Oh God bring on the Fall. There's nothing i feel more than a good boot haha. As funny as it sounds, these really do get me excited. I've pretty much already made up my mind to but the classic Timberland boot next month but I just might have to break the bank for these. Just a preview for now.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Quite possibly the only thing I've ever liked from homeboy. The visual is courtesy of my man, the ever so talented Phil.The.God, and may just be the best fucking thing shining off this shit but I can admit the song isn't half bad either. See, I'm not a hater hahaha! Mick's debut album, The Achievement drops soon.

I thought this article was crazy interesting. Just further proof that 'Ye is crafting something especially layered and ill, once again blurring genres like there's no tomorrow. Frontman for a group I admittedly never heard of before, Justin Vernon talks exclusively to Pitchfork about three separate weeks with Kanye in Hawaii working on around 10 songs. Only one of the songs is a lock to appear on the album and it very well could be the next official single, "Lost in the World". Great fucking read, delve in.

After that first week he was like, "I want you to come back." So I came back a few weeks later and it was the same kind of thing, throwing ideas around-- there are a bunch of other songs I'd just throw down on, write a little hook, whatever. In the studio, he was referencing Trent Reznor, Al Green, the Roots-- the fucking awesomest shit. It made total sense to me.

I asked for a separate studio because I'd do so much overdubbing to get my ideas out. So I ended up recording in this tiny back room, and then Kanye would come back and listen to what I came up with, and then we'd work on changing the lyrics. We'd just sit there and collaborate. It was fucking fun, man. A-Trak was out there, Nicki Minaj. Just a bunch of über talented people and everyone was really nice and chill and just working on Kanye's record. I was literally in the back room rolling a spliff with Rick Ross talking about what to do on the next part of a song. It was astonishing. Kanye came back and was like, "Look at you two guys. This is the craziest studio in the Western world right now!"

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I'm kinda into this. First verse tops em all, third verse comes in second and second verse is the weakest but not bad. Hook tight, production tighter. Kid's getting better and better. Saying good stuff, too. Excited to hear where his game is headed.